
Cursed Images
Share your photography that chills us to the bone.
Prizes
- First place:
- $1,000
- Second place:
- $500
- Third place:
- $250
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Oct 16, 2020
Submissions closed
Oct 23, 2020 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Oct 27, 2020
Prizes
- First place:
- $1,000
- Second place:
- $500
- Third place:
- $250
Status
CompletedTimeline
Submissions opened
Oct 16, 2020
Submissions closed
Oct 23, 2020 3:59 AM CUT
Results
Oct 27, 2020
About this challenge
This week’s Challenge brings two of our favorite things together: creative and creepy. We want you to showcase your photography skills (yes, photos taken on your iPhone are perfectly fine!) with a twist: we’re looking for images that chill us to the bone. Share your love for the spooky or paranormal through photographs and elaborate on the behind-the-lens story of where and when they were taken.
Was it an orb or just an error in developing? Is there something in the picture that wasn't there before? Maybe you just relied on a graveyard backdrop or abandoned building to set the tone. Enter the Cursed Images Challenge and share the intriguing photos you've captured with your camera that haunt you to this day. We want to see what can't be unseen – original images only, please! 📸
How to enter
For your story to be eligible, it must be between 600 and 5,000 words and adhere to our Community Guidelines. Stories published on Vocal and entered into the contest up until October 22, 2020 at 11:59 PM EST will be entered for consideration. Official Rules for the Challenge can be found here.
The Cursed Images Challenge is exclusive to Vocal+ members. To learn more and upgrade to Vocal+ visit https://shopping-review.top/vocal-plus%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/span%3E%3C/a%3E.%3C/p%3E%3Cp class="css-1923z11-Text">To be eligible to win the grand prize, second place, or third place prizes, you must be over the age of 13 and residing in a country where Stripe is available at the time of entry. A complete list of countries where Stripe is available can be found here—winners will need to have a Stripe account created and connected in order to receive the prizes. For this reason, entrants located outside of any of these 39 countries will not be eligible to win.
Open challenges
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Challenge resources
Mismatch Challenge Winners
Blending genres isn’t about stacking elements side by side. It’s about what happens when two sets of expectations refuse to cooperate. The strongest entries in the Mismatch Challenge understood that tension and leaned into it. Rather than smoothing the edges, these stories let their chosen genres complicate one another, creating friction that carried through voice, structure, and consequence.
By Vocal Curation Team15 days ago in Resources
Public Announcement Challenge Winners
For the Public Announcement Challenge, writers were asked to work inside voices built for control. These were notices, warnings, and updates meant to inform rather than confess. The strongest entries committed to that form and didn't break from it. Corporate memos, formal government alerts, and internal policy language were held consistently, allowing emotion, fear, grief, or humor to surface indirectly through pressure rather than declaration. The following poems recognize the voice of authority, and let human feeling slip through despite all its rules and restraint.
By Vocal Curation Team20 days ago in Resources






